Germany’s largest universal port contains over 75 terminals, handling over 18,000 ocean-going and inland waterway ships per year. For the Elbe and port pilots, the 65 percent increase in the number of calls by what are known as extraordinarily large vessels – German: AGFs – represents a challenge. Whereas in 2008 not quite 600 ships in this class berthed in Hamburg, meanwhile more than 1000 do so. AGFs are vessels with a length of over 330 metres and a breadth of over 45 metres. These are subject to numerous restrictions along the 120-kilometre stretch of the River Elbe between the estuary and the boundary of the Port of Hamburg, which must be exactly observed. In the view of Port Captain Jörg Pollmann, in a growing number of traffic situations requiring regulation, maximum safety can only be achieved through proactive movement control coordinated with all traffic participants. Further expansion of cooperation between those responsible for traffic control in the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), the port and Elbe pilots, and the Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC), should in future involve incorporation of ships and pilot stations in the German Bight in mobile data traffic. For Pollmann, owing to the increasing digitization of port traffic control, a ‘Port Traffic Center’ will ultimately ensure data flow and intelligent networking of all carriers and traffic flows, while allowing for infrastructure and logistics procedures.

Cheniere Energy's first LNG commissioning cargo from its Corpus Christi terminal has been loaded aboard the LNG carrier Maria Energy, and is now headed for a destination in Greece. It is the first LNG cargo ever exported from the state of Texas.

Leading classification society Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), won ‘Classification Society of the Year’ award at the Samudra Manthan Awards ceremony on 5 December, and on another occasion, the ‘Indywood Excellence Award for Professional Achievement – Class Compliance’ was bestowed upon Mr. Suresh Sinha, Managing Director of IRClass, recognising his efforts towards the development of the classification society landscape within the maritime sector.

The European Commission has added the first non-European shipbreaking yards to the list of approved facilities licensed under the new European Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR). The additions do not include South Asian yards, but they do add new geographic options.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for October showing that demand (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) rose 6.3% compared to the same month last year. This marked a rebound from 5.5% growth recorded in September, which was an eight-month low. Capacity also grew 6.3% and load factor was flat at 81.1%, matching last year’s record for the month.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), rose 3.1% in October 2018, compared to the same period the year before. This pace of growth was up from a 29-month low of 2.5% in September.

Finnair will add a new daily frequency year-round on both its routes to Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia as of March 31, 2019. The flights will be flown with an Embraer 190 aircraft. The new additions will bring the total amount of weekly flights up to 27 on the St. Petersburg route and up to 28 on the Moscow route.

Tomorrow’s transport system will be based on the principles of sustainability: principles which are already at the core of road transport operators’ business.At the IRU World Congress in Oman, IRU’s global membership adopted the 2050 Decarbonisation Vision demonstrating the readiness of the sector to make far-reaching changes and investments in a sustainable future, striving to play their part in meeting the Paris climate change targets. A key tenet of the vision is the need for a cross-modal, cross-sectoral approach to decarbonisation, involving a strong public-private partnership in shaping the way ahead.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has published an analysis of the potential impact of blockchain technology on international trade: Blockchain and International Trade: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for International Trade Cooperation.

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